A Des Moines-area woman prosecutors accused of starving her daughter to death was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison. Twenty-six-year-old Tricia Lozano called emergency crews to her Johnston home in March of 2006 saying her daughter stopped breathing.
Three-year-old Consuela Lozano Lopez couldn’t be revived and the Polk County medical examiner later said it was one of the worst cases of starvation he’d seen. The girl weighed 12 pounds, about half what’s typical for a three-year-old. The mother pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and neglect of a dependent. Lozano has two other children, ages four and five. Both were well-fed and are now under their grandmother’s care.